Christmas time!

It seems that this year has gone by way too fast and that included Christmas too! With all of our new adventures in 2008 it's obvious why! A new baby, trips back home to visit family, and getting through the holidays, it has been a busy year. I hope everyone had a great 2008 and I hope 2009 will be everything you hope it to be!

Evan playing with his first gift

All smiles on Christmas Day!

Evan's 1st Thanksgiving

Well Thanksgiving came and went and everyone is getting ready for Christmas already! I can't believe how quickly this year went. Evan is going to be 8 months old in a few days and we are so excited for all of his first holidays!

He's already pulling himself up on the furniture!

Daddy and Evan on Thanksgiving Day

Our family

Todd and Nichole carving up the turkey

Evan making his "Zoolander" face

What a busy weekend!

This past weekend we had quite a lot going on. Of course, Friday was Halloween. Evan was a cute as can be in his Monkey costume. We took him over to our friend, Jon's, house, munched on snacks and handed out candy to the trick-or-treaters.

On Saturday, we went to my co-worker, Kim's, wedding reception. It was a 70's-80's themed reception and it was really fun to see how everyone dressed up.

Then on Sunday, my friend, Gemma, and I took the kid's to see "Elmo's Green Thumb". Our friend, Nicole, is the Count in the show and she was nice enough to get us tickets. Evan was fascinated with the characters and squealed quite a bit throughout the show. I guess that means he liked it!

Saying "Goodbye" to Maggie

On September 27th I hosted Maggie's going away party. It was very bittersweet. We all have a great time when we get together but it was hard to say goodbye to a great friend. Maggie made all of are days at Reed Manning a lot less boring and we'll always have great memories. Concerts, girls nights out, doggie play dates, parties...it was a blast while it lasted. Thanks Maggie!

Shellee, Hannah and Angie
Lisa and Gemma
Reed Manning gang

Sandra feeding Maggie her cake

Rascal Flatts

Last night Maggie and I went to see Rascal Flatts and Taylor Swift at the Amphitheatre. There concert that we went to last year was great and they didn't dissapoint this year. I was afraid it might be an emotional show because of being held on 9/11. It wasn't a tear jerker but they did acknowledge the families and victims of 9/11 and had a moment of silence which was really nice. We got pretty good seats on the lawn and didn't end up with rude people around us, so all in all it was a great night.

Our 1st family vacation

We all had a really good time in Connecticut this last week visiting family. Evan did great on his first plane ride and everyone was very impressed. I'm really glad his great grandmother, aunts, uncles and cousins finally got to meet him. Evan loved all the attention! Hopefully we can get back soon!

The geese are taking over !

Today I got home from running errands to find about 10 geese in my front yard. They have a tendency to wander the neighborhood but very rarely come in our yard. Probably because Sadie's barking scares them away. But for some reason, maybe it was the shade under the tree in our front yard, they congregated there. I'm glad they don't come by often though because they sure leave a mess behind!

Here are some pictures I took of the new play area I made for Evan today. Boy, the pregnancy pillow I bought was the best $50 I ever spent. I have been able to use it for the pregnancy, for Evan to lie in when he was still really tiny and now I can use it as a "bumper" around his play mat. Before I did this I would turn my back for 2 seconds and he'd have rolled halfway across the living room!

Summer Sum Up

So I can't believe how quickly this summer has gone by, but they always do I guess. We have been having a blast taking Evan to the pool and seeing his reaction to being in the water. I bought a float for him and he really seems to like it. Evan is sort of like me in a way how he just adapts so easily to different situations. He has not been scared of the water at all. I think in a few months I may start him in some baby swimming classes and see how that goes.


Josh is looking forward to the restaurant slowing down. After Labor day they should start having some relief from the big summer crowds and hopefully that will mean more family time. Speaking of which, we will be going up to Connecticut in September to visit family. This will be Evan's first visit with his great-grandmother, great-aunts, uncles and cousins on my dad's side, so I'm very excited for everyone to meet him for the first time. There, of course , will be lots of pictures to follow.


Some other exciting news is that Josh's brother, Jason and his wife, Gigi are expecting there 1st child in March, so Evan will have a new cousin very soon! We can't wait to meet him or her!

Evan is 3 months old!

It seemed like just yesterday that we were bringing Evan home from the hospital. These last 3 months have gone by so quickly and he is growing by the minute it seems. This last month especially we have noticed a lot of changes. He is able to roll over to one side and laughs and smiles quite a bit. This last week he has been getting very inerested in his fingers and loves sucking on them. (Which might be good since we're trying to get him weaned off the pacifier.) He is "talking" a lot too with his coos and squeals and I am convinced he said "Hi" today which probably wasn't intentional. All together he is a very happy baby. We are so excited to see him learn and grow even more!

Summer is just about here!

Summer is always a busy time for Josh and me. The restaurant is crazy this time of year and business always picks up for me at the salon as well. Today we went out to Sandbridge, and spent time at my boss's beach house for a summer party. We are going through a heat wave right now, so it was great to cool off in the pool and relax. My sister Ashley is here now, giving Virginia Beach a try. She recently graduated from Stonybrook University in Long Island and is hoping to find a job in Marketing/Event Planning. It has been wonderful having her here. She has been able to help me out alot with Evan and give me some time to myself as well.
So far the summer season is off to a great start. Here's to lot's of cookouts, beach days and warm summer nights. I hope everyone has a great summer, I know I'm looking forward to it!